Passes & Canyons Blog

We had a Vanderhall Carmel autocycle with us today.

I just got home from a ride with the RMMRC. With temperatures expected to be in the 70s on this early March day it should be no surprise there were altogether 17 people on this ride.

With so many people it was basically assured we could not stick together all the way to our destination west of Colorado Springs, in old Colorado City. But we also needed to pick up three others in two spots along the way, so we just made sure everyone knew the two spots and said get there and regroup.

That worked pretty well but then, leaving the second stop, in Franktown, we were headed to a restaurant in Colorado City that nobody was familiar with and getting there was not going to be necessarily simple. So once again the deal to get into Colorado Springs, get off at Fillmore Street, and regroup. Then try to stay together to get to the restaurant.

Let’s just say we managed. Only a little bit of chaos.

After lunch we were going to essentially backtrack, but Tim said he could lead us on a nice ride up through Garden of the Gods and then on the way we were figuring. OK. Tim is the one person I know who knows the roads better than me.

So we all got on our bikes and ready to go and looked around and where the heck was Tim? Nowhere to be seen. What the heck? So someone else took the initiative and led us off on what was not a very good route and within two traffic lights we were already getting broken up. We got on US 24 headed toward I-25 and then someone got in the left turn lane. Some people were able to get over but others weren’t and I saw Susan and someone else just go on straight on 24. The rest of us turned, except the one who initiated the turn did a U-turn and went back the other way. We just went ahead.

By the time we reached I-25 at the Uintah interchange there were only four still together in the pod I was in. Then we got on the highway and very soon Gene was the only one behind me and no one in front. So we got off at the designated exit and were cruising along when I saw someone coming up behind. It was Susan. So the three of us headed north toward Denver on CO 83.

Just before we reached Castlewood Canyon State Park I checked my mirror and Gene was nowhere to be seen. In other circumstances that would be cause for concern but with everyone basically just headed home he could easily have decided to take a different route. So we kept going. Around about Orchard Susan peeled off so I was alone but just then I saw in my mirror someone who looked to be Gene.

I figured I’d take it easy and let him catch up but Gene has a way of hanging back. Finally at a stoplight he got close enough that I could see it wasn’t Gene, but Pat, who also rides a Concours 14, as does Gene. Then things took a twist.

Traffic started moving and the guy in front of me started moving, just as I was looking behind me to ascertain that it was Pat. As I turned my gaze forward I saw the truck in front of me was stopped. I later learned there was a car stalled a few car lengths in front of him. I nailed my brakes and, fishtailing wildly, tried to direct the bike to the left of the truck. I came to a stop with my front wheel past the back of the truck but to the side and his rear bumper about two inches from my fairing. I would not have gotten hurt but there would have been damage to the bike. I got lucky. You know, forget trying to see who that is, ride your damn bike.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful, thank goodness.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Your motorcycle never wants a night out alone with the other motorcycles.

It won’t be long now till we can be out doing this. (On top of Cumberland Pass)

Now is the time to be contacting your legislators about the bill to classify auto-cycles as separate and different than motorcycles. Here’s a note from Stump, the ABATE of Colorado legislative liaison.

Just found out HB22-1043 (Definition of a Motorcycle) has been assigned to the S-T&E Committee. Now would be the time to urge the committee members to pass this bill. Below is their email contact information. Sen. Hisey is on the S-T&E committee also, but since he is the Senate Sponsor, you don’t have to email him.

Faith Winter faith.winter.senate@state.co.us (Chairwoman)
Brittany Petterson brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us (Vice-Chair)
Don Coram don.coram.senate@state.co.us
Kerry Donovan kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
Ray Scott ray.scott.senate@state.co.us
Rachel Zenzinger senatorrachelz@gmail.com

The email can be as simple as, “I urge you to pass HB22-1043” or you can elaborate as to why this should be passed (true and accurate crash data with autocycles having their own classification).

Ukraine
Going a bit farther afield than I normally do, there was an item out of Ukraine that caught my eye. Considering the propaganda that all sides in war put out I take this with a grain of salt but here it is.

“Russian invaders, facing the total resistance of Ukrainian defenders, surrender themselves to captivity. Under Chernihiv, a whole intelligence unit of 74 motorcycle rifle brigade surrendered,” the CinC AF stated, adding that the Russian soldiers “thought they would return home” and that they were “collecting information” instead of fighting.

During a press briefing, Ukraine Ambassador Markarova also told reporters that a platoon of the Russian 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade surrendered to Ukrainian forces.

“Just before I came here, we got information from our chief commander that one of the platoons of the 74th motorized brigade…surrendered, also noting that they didn’t know that they were brought to Ukraine to kill Ukrainians. That they thought they were doing something else there,” she explained.

So if it’s really true, hooray for the Russian motorcycle platoon. I will note a discrepancy you may also have noticed. First that report refers to “a whole intelligence unit of 74 motorcycle rifle brigade” and later they say “a platoon of the Russian 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade.” So I suspect it wasn’t 74 soldiers, but that their unit was designated the 74th. But there hasn’t been any more mention that I’ve seen of the situation so who knows what the facts are. Just for the record I want to say Go Ukrainians, kick some Russian butt.

PIMS
Plus, it appears the Progressive IMS Outdoors motorcycle show will be coming to Colorado this year after all. It is now scheduled for June 17-19 in Loveland at the Ranch events center east of the highway there. I’m definitely going to be going.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if if you don’t ride your bike to work because it scuffs your penny loafers.

Hey, once I rode through water! Oh, that doesn’t count?

It has been almost a year since I last checked in on this Adventure Rider thread, so here are another batch of objects riders have encountered on (or above) the road.

• Hit a river otter. Yes, they are big.
• I was riding down by San Diego State University one day. The sights of the lovely coeds were so agreeable I almost hit a post.
• Weiner dog, yellow bellied marmot, kid on a unlicensed mini-bike.
• Groundhog, Squirrels, Seagull, Endangered parrot, Cinder block.
• I barely registered the canoe perched atop an oncoming pickup initially, but some mental twig made me think that either the bearing or aspect of the boat did not exactly match the vehicle it was perched on as it got nearer. And sure as s—, that thing caught lift, cranked sideways, and levered into my lane, then proceeded to pull off the bed and landed skidding just behind me. Closing speed was probably 80ish, backroads and no other traffic, and luckily the poor blacktop and camber already had me near the fog line; otherwise, I’m guessing either a massive vector change (not good) or going down (maybe worse) would have been in my future.
• I hit the ground because I was going too slow uphill watching girls do jumps.
• A wombat went under my back wheel. Did not see it coming.
• On a group ride and saw a brush turkey run out from the left of the road, didn’t feel a hit but couldn’t see it exit on the right either. An hour later we stopped and I asked the other riders if anyone could smell roast chicken? Looked down and there he was, stuck between the header pipes, gently roasting away.
• A small owl,,,but I didn’t hit it, I was attacked by it. Was driving through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and this owl flies across the road, levels off towards me and attacks my helmet with full talons out. I ducked but it still raked the top of the helmet.
• A huge roll of wide steel banding that slid off the back of a flat bed 18 wheeler. I was far enough back that I could brake when I saw the dust cloud. As I passed there was nothing but a mass tangle of razor sharp edges.
• A semi full of meat, at night in a construction zone. The trailer had flipped and torn open and there was meat everywhere, hams and like that. The cab went off the left side and plunged off the road on an overpass. heard later the driver did not survive.
• Ride in N Carolina I could see ahead and thought it was a pipe laying across the road. As I got closer saw that it was moving, the biggest black indigo snake I have ever seen.
• An old, full size, 6’x4′ freezer, laying lengthwise in the right lane. On the 416 going into Ottawa from the east. Couldn’t figure out why the traffic was slowing and swerving all over till it was right in front of me by about 80′.
• A five foot rattle snake followed by several miles of random tarantulas crossing NM Hwy 104 out of Tucumcari, NM on my way to Las Vegas, NM.

OK, fun! (Not.) Be careful out there.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if you carry a lap-top in your saddle bags.

One of the rides I did last year.

I periodically go through the links on the Passes & Canyons website, testing them all and removing any that are no longer good. Far less frequently I go through my bookmarks in my browser to see what is still functioning and what is not.

Here are a few sites you may find interesting, as well as a few you have missed.

• Bikerpunks.com – Watch Motorcycle Videos, Sportbike Videos! — Gone. Yeah, there are plenty of videos out there, but it was nice to have a whole bunch in one place.
• blindspotcycles.com — Sorry to see this is gone. This was a guy who made a business of converting old gas-driven bikes to electric. I did a couple pieces about him and his bikes but I guess he has moved on.
• Colorado Front Range Tag-O-Rama — Not a site, but a thread on Adventure Rider. These guys go out and shoot photos of their bikes by some unique or odd building or natural feature or whatever, post them, and then the others have to figure out where this is and go shoot their bikes in the same place. Then the new winner posts another spot and it keeps going. I have participated in this but not recently so I’m glad to see they’re still going.
• Motorcycle Escape and Top Ten favorite rides and getaways — Another page on a bigger site, in this case Motorcyclist magazine. The title here is self-explanatory and the rides recommended are still good ones.
• Motorcycle Museums | Enginecycle® Motorcycle Directory—U.S. — Gone. Too bad. This was a directory to the motorcycle museums around the country. But I’m guessing others have stepped up to fill this niche. This site, Rumble On, looks good.
• Tilting Motor Works — I’m glad to see this guy is making it. He designed a two-wheeled, tilting front end for a few Harleys, Indians, and Hondas. None of this drives-like-a-car business of most motorcycle trikes. They’re not inexpensive, however.
• Motorcycle Travel in Hope, Whistler and the Sea to Sky Highway — Oh yeah, shameless plug. This is a link to a story I wrote for Rider magazine a few years back.
• Twisted Road — This one is definitely worth bookmarking. Are you going to be away from home and would like a bike to ride but don’t want to pay the high price of the big guys? Twisted Road is a peer-to-peer network where I could rent you my V-Strom, saving you money and putting some cash in my pocket.
• Byways — Subtitled “Exploring Our Nation’s Scenic Byways,” this site shows you some of the best roads in each state. Who knew there were 11 scenic byways in Kansas.
• AllPoetry.com — This one’s a bit different. It’s a poetry site and they have a page for motorcycle poetry. Check it out, there’s some interesting stuff here.
• Redleg (Dom Pacheco) is one of the most intrepid riders I know. He rides sidecar rigs and goes everywhere and almost totally ignores silly things like weather. And he chronicles it all here on his blog, A Redleg’s Rides.

OK, I’ve gone through about a third of my motorcycle bookmarks, and two things are evident. First, an awful lot of sites and blogs come and go. Second, considering I’ve been posting this blog regularly for 16 years I guess I must be one of the real old-timers. Dom is, too. We’ve both been blogging since 2006. Thanks for reading.

Biker Quote for Today

An engineering student is walking on campus one day when another engineer rides up on a shiny new motorcycle.
“Where did you get such a rocking bike?” asked the first.
The second engineer replied “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, ‘Take what you want.'”
The first engineer nodded approvingly “Good choice, the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit!”

Our OFMC logo.

Judy and I had a candlelight dinner the other night and she wondered aloud if eating a baloney sandwich by candlelight would make it special.

That brought to mind a meal John and Bill and I had years ago on one of the early OFMC trips. We were in Utah, planning to spend the night camped at Hall’s Crossing, across from the Bullfrog Marina, on the north shore. In the morning we would take the ferry across and be on our way.

We knew better than to count on food at the marina so we stopped in Blanding at a grocery store and picked up a few things.

We cruised on then to Hall’s Crossing but upon arrival we encountered a problem we hadn’t anticipated. There was a campground and we had no trouble getting a campsite. There was a little store there but by the time we got there it was closed for the day–good for us for foresight. But there was no wood for a fire. None, as in no trees. And no firewood to be bought because the store was closed.

I don’t remember what else we bought but we had hot dogs. How are we going to cook these things?

One thing on hand was sagebrush. But green, growing things don’t generally burn well. So we scrounged around and found just a few dead twigs and some dry grass. We put it all together and had enough to make a fire about the size of your palm.

There were no sticks to impale the hot dogs on so we took turns, holding each end of the dog in our fingers, passing them back and forth over the tiny flame, turning it to cook all sides, and then there was dinner.

Maybe it was cooking over burning sage. Maybe it was just the situation. I mean, everyone knows food cooked over a campfire tastes better than the same thing cooked at home.

Whatever it was, those hot dogs were absolutely delicious. Those were unquestionably the best dogs I have ever eaten.

Thanks for calling that memory to mind, Judy.

Biker Quote for Today

100 reasons not to date a biker: 14. If the weather is nice, we’re not home.

Yeah, I still have this old windshield on the bike, though it’s cracked from the one time I went down on it.

Thinking about my first days with a motorcycle made me think of other things. Like the D.U.M.P. As in Denver Used Motorcycle Parts.

This was an appropriately dumpy little place along Park Avenue West, at about Ogden or Emerson, where it was a parts and gear shop plus they had a small yard with old bikes being parted out. A lot like Steele’s today but much smaller.

I got all my early gear from the D.U.M.P. And I learned a lot.

For instance, I very quickly found that I did not like the blast of the wind at speed. I went to the D.U.M.P. and asked for a windshield. The guy showed me some and along the way I used the word “fairing” interchangeably. He asked me, did I want a windshield or a fairing? I didn’t understand the difference. I bought a windshield.

I already had a helmet, a half-helmet actually, from my days flying a hang-glider. But I wanted a face shield to block the wind. It had three snaps across the front so I looked for snap-on shields. The woman waiting on me at the D.U.M.P. showed me some simple, curved shields but I asked about this one that was like a half bubble. She told me scornfully that yeah, some people used those, but it was clear she did not think highly of them. I liked it and that’s the one I bought.

Later I bought a sissy bar and rack there.

I got my first leather jacket from the D.U.M.P. and my first gauntlet-style gloves and also a similar pair for winter lined with Thinsulate. And then my leather chaps. I was a regular customer at the D.U.M.P.

Of course the name of the place inevitably led to some amusing confusion. I remember a girlfriend asking me where I got something and when I told her I got it, in her hearing, “at the dump” she looked at me with a very weird expression.

And then one day I came by and they were closed. Gone. Now there’s probably some high-rise standing on that piece of land.

That’s something I’ve come to see as a constant: Motorcycle shops come and go. I try to keep my Colorado Motorcycle Dealers and Repair Shops page on the website up to date but at least once a year I go through and click on all the links and remove a bunch that are no longer in existence. Heck, the little shop on Federal where I bought my CB750 closed within a year or two of me buying that bike.

Fortunately, there always seems to be someone else willing to give it a shot. It’s probably not a bad idea if we all support our local motorcycle shops. That’s the only way they’ll be there when we need them.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Motorcycles last longer.